Dragons of the Hourglass Mage Review

Title: Dragons of the Hourglass Mage
Author: Margaret Weis & Tracy Hickman
Series: The Lost Chronicles #3,
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Fantasy. Dragons, Goblins, Kender, Knights, Warriors, Wizards

Review:


Spoiler Alert! - leave now if you have not read the book


The Lost Chronicles book are considered "fill-in" book rather than a series as this answer issues that where raised from the original Chronicles series. I read and review this book over the Dragons of the Dwarven Depths and Dragons of the Highlord Skies because I was excited to read what really happened to Raistlin between the events after he teleported out of the Maelstrom and return in end of
Dragons of Spring Dawning

Dragons of the Hourglass Mage fills the gap to which I commend the authors for doing so as this basically explains it all. As always Raistlin was "foxy" as ever as he was able survive countless events that could have him killed even surviving the wrath of Takhisis because he carries the last of the Dragon Orbs.The story also reveal how treacherous Kitiara Uth-Matar is as she is willing to kill Raistlin after he stole Hourglass of Star in Dargaard Keep.

The final battle betwen Raistlin and his lich, Fistandatilus was the highlight of the book as he was able to defeat the "soul" of the "present" Fistandantilus and revealed to the Dark queen that he "IS" Fistandantilus in the flesh in the body of Raistlin. With this development, Raistlin was able to fully acquire Fistandantilus knowledge and power and set his sights on becoming a god which  will be chronicles on  the Legends series.

Overall, Dragons of the Hourglass Mage is by far the best book of the three Lost Chronicles series as this has serve as a "prequel" to the Legends Series although I have to read the first two books but every Dragonlance fans know that Raistlin is the MAN when you talk about Dragonlance and I dare say this is a must-read book for every fan out there.

Perfect Shadow Review

Title: The Perfect Shadow
Author: Brent Weeks
Series: Night Angel Trilogy Prequel, Novella
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Magic, Assassins, Action, Adventure

Book Preview:

Discover the origins of Durzo Blint in this original novella set in the world of Brent Weeks' New York Times bestselling Night Angel trilogy."I got a bit of prophecy," the old assassin said. "Not enough to be useful, you know. Just glimpses. My wife dead, things like that to keep me up late at night. I had this vision that I was going to be killed by forty men, all at once. But now that you're here, I see they're all you. Durzo Blint."Durzo Blint? Gaelan had never even heard the name.Gaelan Starfire is a farmer, happy to be a husband and a father; a careful, quiet, simple man. He's also an immortal, peerless in the arts of war. Over the centuries, he's worn many faces to hide his gift, but he is a man ill-fit for obscurity, and all too often he's become a hero, his very names passing into legend: Acaelus Thorne, Yric the Black, Hrothan Steelbender, Tal Drakkan, Rebus Nimble.But when Gaelan must take a job hunting down the world's finest assassins for the beautiful courtesan-and-crimelord Gwinvere Kirena, what he finds may destroy everything he's ever believed in.

Review
This is my second short story/novella that I have read among my collection of e-books as I rarely read novellas unless it serves as a prequel of a book series that interests me. This week I was able to finish reading Brent Meek's "Perfect Shadow" which is a prequel to the Night Angel trilogy series.

The story setting is somewhat similar to Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire to which the protagonist Gaelen Starfire (which is one of Durzo Blint's past name before the start of the Night Angel trilogy) is telling his life story to a young redhead Yvor Vas who later on was revealed to have an interest in "acquiring" the Black Ka'Kari from Durzo to no avail.

This novella is a must read for those who want to start reading the Night Angel series as this will give you an overview about Durzo Blint's history.

Fool Moon Review

Title: Fool Moon
Author: Jim Butcher
Series: Dresden Files #2
Genre: Detective, Private Investigator, Urban Fantasy, Wizards, Werewolves

Review:
The "Fool Moon" continues to follow the career of Harry Dresden, Chicago's only wizard/private invesigator, who seems to be having some trouble finding work after the incidents from "Storm Front. But when there's a string of grotesque murders happening, Harry gets to investigate the case which later involves a mob boss and a vicious gang of werewolf bikers.

Harry has also progress as the protagonist as the story begins to explore part of Harry's past as well as a potential budding romance even his sarcasms and jokes are beginning to evolve (specially when Harry consults with Bob the Skull).

Aside from the main protagonist, the plot is interesting as readers are presented with wide variety of lycanthropes (werewolves, hexenwolves, loup garou etc.) which made this book action-packed.

All in all, Fool Moon is by far one of the best books ever written by Jim Butcher and I cannot wait to read the next book of this series

I would recommend this novel to anyone who read and liked the first book and anyone who is looking for a good paranormal/urban fantasy series.

Clockwork Angel Review

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices #1
Genre: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, Nephilim, Steampunk, Romance.

Review:
Clockwork Angel is the first installment of the Infernal Devices Trilogy a prequel story to the highly successful The Mortal Instruments series. This series is set into  Victorian time London other than setting, the theme is rather the same with the TMI.

Clockwork Angel is a captivating novel that Twilight fans will enjoy sinking their teeth into. At the end of each chapter, the Clare dangles just enough information and action to keep the reader hooked. As with the original series, Clare has a penchant for using cliffhangers to keep the series interesting.  

Even so, the Cassandra Clare succeeds in offering enchanting and diverse characters placed in a well-constructed "steampunk" Victorian London setting. Readers will find the characters' background -- each was orphaned as a young child, has a secret past, and struggles with identity and longing for home.

Overall, Clockwork Angel is a great introduction to world of the Shadowhunters particularly the ancestors of the characters in the TMI series. Despite some similarities with the original series, the overall flow of the stories was more mysterious and interesting.